Fire injures man, destroys 2 apartments in Orange

A Templeton firefighter pulls down burning material amid blowing insulation from the attic of the Colonial Acres building.

ORANGE — Fire investigators are trying to determine what caused a two-alarm fire inside a housing complex at 200 East River St. this morning, but a tenant living inside the apartment where the fire began believes her husband's oxygen tank caught fire.

Fire officials could not confirm whether the oxygen tank caused the fire.

The fire, called in about 8:45 a.m., displaced 11 people living inside the two-story, eight-unit building inside the Colonial Acres complex for elderly and disabled people. Two first-floor apartments are a loss, officials said.

Lydia Sistis, who lives in the first-floor apartment where the fire began, said her husband Stephen suffered smoke inhalation and was taken to an area hospital. Fire officials said the injury was not life-threatening and he was being released.

“I woke up and my husband was screaming, 'fire, fire,' ” she said. “I looked in the room and saw the fire and ran out of the room.”

The fire was in the back bedroom. Mrs. Sistis said her husband uses oxygen for medical reasons. She believed the oxygen tank caused the fire, but didn't know if it malfunctioned or was caused by her husband smoking. The mattress had caught on fire.

Lisa Kuenzel, who lives on the first floor, said she heard people screaming and then saw the smoke. She tried to get upstairs to the second floor, but was pushed back by smoke. She ran outside and began hitting apartment buzzers to warn people.

“You couldn't see two feet in front of you,” she said. Ms. Kuenzel said she is going to live with her son while other residents are going to a hotel.

Orange Fire Chief Dennis Annear said the other six apartments can be salvaged. Some residents' personal items were brought out of the building for them.

The two police officers who arrived did a great job getting people out of the building, the fire chief said.

“We took one person off one of the balconies,” Chief Annear said.

The building was built in the 1970s and only has one alarm.

The Orange Fire Department was in New Salem helping fight another blaze when the fire at Colonial Acres was called in. A total of 14 towns were called in to help fight the fire in Orange and provide area coverage.

The fire shot out of the first-floor apartment and into the roof area. It took roughly an hour to put out the blaze. Residents could see the flames outside.

“We're not exactly sure how it started. The fire marshal is investigating,” Chief Annear said.

Christi Martin, executive director of Colonial Acres, said the complex doesn't have any room to move the displaced residents into other apartments. The Salvation Army and area chapters of the American Red Cross responded to the scene to provide assistance to the residents.

Ms. Martin said the displaced residents lost several items. She is concerned about how those people will be able to replace lost items.

“I doubt they had apartment insurance,” she said. “You never expect this thing to happen. They are going to need everything, furniture and clothing … everything.”